If Life Was Easy
by theo darkstar
Summary: If Kushina and Minato had never died, if the Uchiha family was still alive, if the Hyuga family was still all together.  Kushina is wife to the Hokage, Hinata is Heir to the Hyuga, but not everything in life is easy.  there are many obstacles in the way.
1. Chapter 1  Lunch Dates

Disclaimer - any names you don't recognize belong to me, the rest don't.

**Chapter One - Lunch Date**

It was a warm, sunny day in Konoha, but Kushina Uzumaki did not care for it as she stalked through the streets towing two unfortunate beings in her wake. One was her blond haired, most treasured son, Naruto Uzumaki. The other was almost her second son, her husband's last and most treasured student, Kakashi Hatake. Naruto whined and struggled as his mother towed him along by his arm. Kakashi remained silent, until the blond boy blamed him for their trouble, then the two began arguing with each other. Kushina ignored them.

"Good morning Kushina!" called Ayame Yamanaka as the trio passed the flower shop. Kushina glanced behind her at the now silent duo.

"Morning Ayame, how are the girls?" she asked. She decided a break would be ok, but her grip on the boys did not lessen.

"As good as they can be, Ino enjoys bossing little Sayuri around now that Sayuri is up and walking!" Ayame said with a fond smile. Kushina could see the two girls behind the counter. Ino was showing her younger sister how to arrange the flowers, while Sayuri was happily eating them. The two girls were very similar in looks; Sayuri's hair had a slight curl to it like her mother's.

"Hmm, they do grow up fast don't they," smiled Kushina as she turned to glance at Kakashi. The silver haired boy cringed at the look while Naruto poked his tongue out at him. Kakashi poked his tongue out back and Kushina rolled her eyes at their antics.

"Ah yes!" laughed Ayame, "well I better let you get on with business, don't be too harsh on them Kushina, we are only young once!" Kushina gave a warm smile in return.

"Bye Ayame, see you next Tuesday at the picnic!" said Kushina and she towed her charges back out the shop and towards the Hokage tower. She smiled her trade mark grin as she heard Ayame scolding Sayuri for eating flowers. Behind her, Kakashi and Naruto were pulling faces at each other.

When they reached the Hokage tower, no one stopped them as they made their way up to the office. They all knew not to cross Kushina when she looked like that. Kushina kicked open the door to the office and stormed inside. Minato Namikaze looked up from his paper work to see his wife, son and student. He winced when he noticed the angry look plastered across Kushina's face and looked behind her to see the twin smirks on the boy's faces.

"Ah Kushina love, what brings you here today?" he asked with a smile, deciding to feign innocence.

"You can deal with them today while I clean up the house again and make sure you punish them this time! Send them home later this afternoon!" Kushina hissed as she pushed the duo towards Minato and turned and left the office. She was like a hurricane. A red hurricane. Silence fell over the office. Minato looked from one boy to the other. Then Naruto grinned and let out a loud whoop.

"Yes! It worked Kashi! We got out of cleaning and we got out of the house! We get to spend the day with daddy!" the blond seven year old shouted as he bounced around the office. Minato blinked at his son. Kakashi shrugged and settled into his favourite chair in the corner and pulled out a book, starting to read. Minato shrugged and let his son sit on his lap while he continued with his paper work, letting Naruto help.

Kushina smiled as she exited the tower. Now she was free to have lunch with Mikoto Uchiha with no children to worry about. She already had several clones cleaning the mess Naruto and Kakashi had made. It was wrong to say she was angry. She actually loved seeing Kakashi act like a child, being young and carefree, and she knew Naruto would love spending the day with his father. As she walked, she spied Hotaru Hyuga wondering through the shops with her two daughters, Hinata and Hanabi. Kushina smiled and waved as she passed. Hinata was in the same class in the Academy as Naruto. According to her son, Hinata was very quiet and very shy, she also had few friends. In fact, it seemed she spent most of her time either alone or sitting with Naruto and Sasuke. Kushina looked around for the always present Branch Member Hyuga and spied her. There was Hiromi Hyuga with her son Neji not far behind. Neji was Hinata's cousin, older by a year, their fathers were brothers. Kushina did not approve of the seal on the Branch Members, and wondered how Hiashi was going to deal with it when it came to his own two daughters. Not wanting such grumpy thoughts plaguing her mind during lunch, Kushina pushed them away as she neared the restaurant she was meeting Mikoto at. There was Mikoto sitting waiting for her.

"Hello Mikoto, sorry I'm late, trouble getting rid of the boys! They decided to mess the house!" Kushina greeted.

"That's ok Kushina, I had to bribe Itachi to take Sasuke to the park again, I think he plans to dump Sasuke on that new teacher, young Iruka Umino again so he can go train!" Mikoto said with a laugh. Kushina laughed along with her. Their sons were sometimes a lot of trouble.

"So how has your week been?" asked Kushina as they started eating.

"Ah, same as always, Fugako is away on a mission at the moment, Itachi spends his time training, but I believe half the time he is meeting up with a girl. Sasuke told me!" Mikoto said.

"Oh, a girl? Who?" Kushina gushed, hands clasped together like an eager school girl.

"I think it is young Hana Inuzuka, of course, I'm just relying on Sasuke's spying skills," Mikoto smiled.

"Does Tsume know about this?" asked Kushina.

"Not yet, I'm sure it's harmless, Sasuke will tell me if they do anything, but enough about me, how are you? How are the boys?" Mikoto asked. Kushina smiled and recounted the episode from this morning, how Naruto and Kakashi had worked together to mess up the house in a game she titled Roof Walking with Paint. She and Mikoto laughed and talked their way through their lunch and into the afternoon. They hadn't seen each other for a while due to missions and illness and they had much to catch up on, plus play dates to be arranged for their sons.

Hotaru Hyuga smiled and waved when she saw the Hokage's wife making her way along the street, but her mind was otherwise occupied. She was thinking about her children, Hinata in particular. Little Hinata was a constant worry for her. She was such a quiet and reserved child, appearing very timid around others, something a Main Branch heir was not supposed to be. Not even Neji could get Hinata to play. Hanabi, on the other hand, was as loud and outgoing as Neji had been, maybe even more demanding. If Hinata did not learn to be at least a little braver, Hiashi was going to turn his attention to Neji or Hanabi, and Hanabi was only two years old, just a baby still. Behind Hotaru, Hiromi hovered near by with her son Neji. Dear Hiromi had always been a good friend to her, she was glad Hiromi was the Branch Member assigned to her.

"Hotaru dear, something on your mind?" asked Hiromi as she handed Hinata an iced lolly. Hinata accepted it with a small smile and a whispered 'thank you'.

"It's nothing Hiromi, just thinking of the future, I tend to worry too much," Hotaru said as she helped Hanabi with her own iced lolly.

"You worry too much, just relax for the day, I know, lets take the children to the park, I think I saw Suki Haruno heading there with her children. It will be good for Hinata to make some more friends, and I know Suki's daughter is a friendly child. I believe she also has a son about Hanabi's age, it will be good for Hanabi to interact with children other than Neji dear," Hiromi said as she herded Hotaru and the children towards the park. Hotaru smiled, Hiromi always seemed to notice things, and almost always had a solution.

Later that night, Kushina tucked Naruto into his bed as she listened to him chatter about his day with his dad. Kakashi was currently downstairs reading, most likely falling asleep on the couch. Minato walked into the room and came over to help tuck his son into bed. The two of them sat and listened as Naruto told them about his day. It was a rare treat for Naruto to have both his parents tuck him into bed. Usually it was just one, or just Kakashi, so Naruto made the most of it and talked until he eventually fell asleep. Minato and Kushina made their way downstairs to discover Kakashi fast asleep on the couch.

"It seems you boys had a rather busy day!" smiled Kushina as she took the book from Kakashi's limp fingers.

"How was your lunch with Mikoto?" Minato asked with a smirk.

"How did you know?" cried Kushina. Minato's smirk grew.

"Iruka stopped by with Sasuke, it seems that boy is quite the gossip once you get him talking!" Minato laughed as he gathered Kakashi into his arms. "Oh my, he's getting heavy!" Kushina smirked as she placed a kiss on the sleeping boy's forehead.

"Just take him to bed!" she laughed as Minato carried the boy away. The smile didn't leave her face as she made her way to the kitchen to start tidying. She felt lucky to have such a loving and weird family, truly blessed.

Hi all, this is my first Naruto Story! hope you all like it and please review and let me know your thoughts!


	2. Chapter 2 To get to a Picnic

Disclaimer - anything you don't recognize belongs to me, the rest doesn't.

**Chapter Two – To Get To A Picnic**

"Come on Naruto, time to get up!" sang Kushina as she gently shook her sleeping son. Naruto groaned and rolled over, trying to burrow under the blankets.

"No, want more sleep!" whined Naruto.

"But Naruto, it's Tuesday, you get to see Sasuke today!" smiled Kushina standing back.

"I'm up! I'm up! Where's my clothes! Let's go mum! Hurry up, we'll be late!" cried Naruto leaping out of bed and racing around the room like a blond hurricane. Kushina laughed as she watched her son. He would do anything for the chance to see Sasuke, even though he saw the other boy just about every day.

"Slowly Naruto, we have plenty of time, let's get some breakfast first," Kushina said as she caught her son and lifted him into the air. Naruto laughed and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck.

"Can I have ramen?" he asked making his eyes large and watery.

"No way Naruto, you had ramen for lunch and before dinner yesterday, yes I know about that extra ramen treat from Itachi, your dad saw you!" Kushina said as she made them breakfast.

"Aw man, and we were so sneaky about it too!" whined Naruto. Kushina smiled and ruffled his hair. Today was Tuesday, the annual picnic to get to know the teachers and students before starting at the Academy again the following week. They did one class per day. Today was the second years, Naruto's year. They were going to meet their new teacher, a young boy called Iruka Umino. He had already proved he was great with the children, babysitting them occasionally. It would be interesting to see how he managed a classroom of children. Especially Naruto's class. There were many different personalities in Naruto's class, many clan heirs as well. There was Naruto and Sasuke together making mischief, active little Kiba Inuzuka and his puppy, gossip queen Ino Yamanaka and shy little Hinata Hyuga.

An hour later, and Kushina and Naruto were finally ready to leave. Kakashi was away on a mission at the moment, and he being away usually made Naruto extra difficult. Without Kakashi there to stop him or help him find a safer way to do something, Naruto went wild. His mischiefs created extra mess and trouble, and pair him with Sasuke; they made some pretty big bangs, literally. Sasuke liked making things explode and Naruto had an obsession with painting things, so their explosions usually covered everything around them in blue and orange. Kushina had often wondered where they got all the paint. Neither boy would give up the supplier. Naruto said it was an S-Ranked secret. Sasuke agreed and added they would have to silence her if they told her. Kushina gave up. But this Tuesday morning, Naruto was extra excited. And excited Naruto led to an active Naruto. An active Naruto led to a frustrated Kushina, and no body crossed a frustrated Kushina. So it took them an hour to get ready, with Naruto bouncing all over the place and Kushina chasing him around and trying to pack lunch. Really, Minato should have already packed the lunch before he left. But Minato rarely stepped into the kitchen with the intention of cooking anything other than ramen. So Kushina made the lunch.

What should have been a ten minute walk took nearly an hour. It certainly wasn't Naruto's fault he tripped and scrapped his knee because he was too busy jumping around. This lead to them trying to find a bandaid. So they turned back home only for Kushina to discover they had none at home. So she dragged her son to the grocery store to buy some. It certainly wasn't Kushina's fault that she left the money sitting on the kitchen bench with their lunch as she tried to find a bandaid for her bleeding son. Home again ran Kushina, leaving Naruto at the shop. The fact that on the way back to the shops she spied some toy dogs that she simply had to buy for Kakashi was not her fault. Eventually Naruto got bored of waiting. So he left the shop and headed to the park. He was sure his mother would find him later. Plus his knee didn't hurt anymore.

"Hey Naruto!" greeted his father when Naruto entered the park. It seemed everyone was already there. Naruto looked around the park to see if he could see Sasuke.

"Aw, I wanted to be here first to surprise Sasuke and you!" whined Naruto as he trudged over to where his father stood.

"You spend too much time with Kakashi, he's always late, but what happened to you and where is your mother?" asked Minato pointing to his son's ripped pants.

"Ah, well, you see, um," Naruto paused as he thought of the most dramatic way to tell this morning events.

"Naruto Uzumaki you are late!" growled one Sasuke Uchiha.

"Well you see Sasuke, there was a horrible accident this morning, monkeys attacked our house and tried to steal the tomatoes!" Naruto said dramatically.

"What! No! Not the tomatoes! Did you save them? You better have saved them! You were meant to be here early so we could set up the prank! But a tomato crisis, really?" Sasuke cried as he shook his best friend. Naruto grinned. Minato scratched his head.

"Yes, yes, I managed to save them, but it was a horrible fight, see I even got injured!" Naruto detached himself from Sasuke to point out his knee.

"Oh Naruto, that's terrible!" Sasuke gushed. Minato could only watch in confusion as his son and Sasuke became enrapt in what was clearly a made up story. He watched as both boys ran off to tell some of the other children their story. He still didn't know what had happened to Naruto or where Kushina was.

"Don't worry Minato, I'll find Kushina and let her know that Naruto is here," said a lazy voice behind the Hokage. Minato turned around to see Kakashi standing there looking very tired. The silver-haired boy had just got back from his mission.

"Thanks Kakashi, then you should go home and rest," Minato said gratefully. He watched as Kakashi left the park before turning back to Tsume Inuzuka.

Kushina turned up twenty minutes later, picnic basket in one hand, Kakashi trailing behind her with a stuffed dog in one hand. She waved at Minato as she made Kakashi help set up the picnic rug next to Mikoto Uchiha.

"Running late Kushina?" laughed Mikoto as Kushina made Kakashi sit and handed him a sandwich.

"Something like that!" laughed Kushina, "is Naruto ok?" she looked around the park for her son.

"Yeah, Sasuke kidnapped him as soon as he got here!" Mikoto pointed to where Naruto and Sasuke were racing around with another little boy. Kushina smiled.

"I'll let him play for a while before introducing him to Iruka properly, and let Suki Haruno finish there with Hinata and Sakura, are the Hyuga's not here?" Kushina settled down and pulled Kakashi against her, the silent boy leaning into her embrace.

"No, Hotaru and Hiashi are here, Hotaru is looking after her youngest and Suki's youngest, there," Mikoto pointed out and she inched closer. Kushina followed where Mikoto was pointing and saw the small woman sitting beside her husband and watching two small children in front of her. Her curiosity satisfied, she turned to Mikoto and the two began to gossip about how Iruka would handle the year.

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hey all, hope you liked that chapter, a lot of Naruto and Kushina in it! Next will be at the picnic! What trouble are Naruto and Sasuke going to cause at the picnic?


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